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These are the German cities where you spend the most of your salary on rent

The Local Germany
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These are the German cities where you spend the most of your salary on rent
Photo: DPA

Countless studies have been done on the most expensive cities in Germany for rents. But, given stark differences in salaries across the country, a new report provides more interesting insights.

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According to the study published by the Hans Böckler Foundation on Thursday, the former West German capital Bonn gives the worst value for money when you compare income to rent - 30.3 percent of earnings go straight to the landlord in the city on the Rhine.

In fact, the results don't shed a good light on the Rhine region in general. Neuss and Cologne, two other towns nestled on the banks of the famous river, offering the second and third worst rent-to-income ratio.

The report looked at the 77 largest cities in Germany, using data from 2014.

Despite Munich having the highest rents in the country - residents of the Bavarian capital pay on average €10.25 per square metre of their apartment - high salaries meant that people were "only" giving 28.3 percent of their wage to the landlord.

Graphic by Statista

Berlin offered a slightly better deal than Munich, with rent taking up 27.2% of net income. Berlin's rental price of €7.69 per square metre is close to the national average of €7.41.

Other big cities like Hamburg and Frankfurt come in the middle of the pack, coming in at 28.6% and 28% respectively.

A rule of thumb in Germany is that one shouldn't spend more than a third of one's post-tax income on rent. But the study found that over 40 percent of Germans are paying over this ratio.

The sleek university town of Heidelberg was surprisingly a place where this wasn't likely to be true, as it came remarkably low in the ranking. It was rated the 2nd best city on the whole country for value for money on renting. An apartment in the south German town only cost 21.4% of average income in 2014.

Most of the other cities with the best rent-to-income ratio were in eastern Germany, with Leipzig and Chemnitz both attractive places to live from this point of view.

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